Take It Easy - You’ll Get There

You’re worried that other people are making more progress on the spiritual pathway. You'd give anything for a quick fix to enlightenment. There's certainly no lack of tempting Shangri-La proffers. Strip-mall yoga studios, check-out line spiritual magazines on parade, water cooler inspired mindfulness discussions. The familiar optimism while you're at your umpteenth seven-day, total transformation retreat. And then, the return to the fray and The Letdown.

You know you're different. You feel different. You are different. You're ready to make the effort, to answer the call: meditation, kundalini, mindfulness, yoga — some catalyst that will take you to the "there" beyond duality.

Relax...you will get there: self-actualization, salvation, self-realization, enlightenment. You name it; they're one and the same — no matter the bells and whistles. All roads lead to the same destination. Not in this lifetime, perhaps, but eventually. Moreover...

Why? Because the more strenuous the practice, the more likely you’ll get caught up in something you never bargained for. It's not a race; it's not competitive. There are no medals for spiritual excellence. Not everyone is suited for exertion, be it mental, physical, or spiritual.

So what makes me say you’ll get there anyway? Evolution, that’s what! Ever thought about it? About the one-celled life forms we evolved from? About how long it took us to evolve from that lowly avatar to where we are today? That’s right; we think we’re the greatest. We hold dominion over all, don’t we? Look around: things don’t appear so secure, not as secure as we might desire or imagine. Maybe we haven't finished evolving. Maybe there’s a lot of ground to cover.

Does the process you’re currently involved with work? Has it made a real difference in your life? Are you following through with it? Did you get all whooped up, just to watch it peter out? Practice relentlessly only to get no results?

I don’t mean to be cynical about spiritual purpose. I know a lot of people are succeeding, just as others are not. But what are the increasing numbers of seekers really looking for? When you boil all the white noise down to first principles, they’re looking to dissolve duality and merge with the Energy Continuum. In other words, Oneness — No matter the path, purpose, or practice.

Nevertheless, many sincere seekers fall by the wayside, which leads to disenchantment, disaffection, and discouragement. No need to berate yourself. Live an honest life, follow the Golden Rule and evolution will do the rest:

“If it's a set of moral standards for daily life, what more do you need than the Golden Rule? 'Treat others as you would like to be treated' or its Judaic counterpart, 'What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.' Most religions share this ethic of reciprocity. If the world’s population observed it, it's hard to imagine crime or war existing. But that's another issue.

"If the goal of religion is enlightenment or salvation, above and beyond a moral code for leading a good life, then the various religions have done a poor job. Wars, pogroms, crusades, jihads, persecutions, sexual molestations, inquisitions, witch-hunts are only some of their failings.”

Sound familiar? It should. It's the Talmudic variation of The Golden Rule.

As for evolution doing the rest, all our best characteristics are slowly improved on and carried over to future generations in DNA. It’s what Gopi Krishna called The Evolutionary Impulse. He knew that kundalini energy, even in its dormant state, is still active to a certain degree. It must be, otherwise we would never have evolved at all.

Let’s hope that the wonders wrought by our evolution get to play themselves out over the coming millenniums, that evolution does not become devolution, which, when we evaluate current events, is anything but a given. There’s a lot to be vigilant about and it begins with the ability of the ego-less self to make good life, as well as, lifestyle decisions.

Develop your mind, body, and spirit to the best of your ability and you will get there. I promise.

It takes a lot of work, which sometimes means less effort and more letting go.